If we look at ‘IELTS’, it is traditional. There we will be writing answers to a question paper similar to facing a school exam. There are several pros and cons that we have to face. The advantages of IELTS are the ease of the examination system and the uniformity of its structure. That is, the format of the question paper given for the ‘IELTS’ examination is always the same.
But the downside is that ‘IELTS’ depends on the ‘Examiner’ or the person. The ‘IELTS exam uses four methods to measure a person’s language proficiency. The four main skills are 'Listening', 'Speaking', 'Writing' and 'Reading'. These four skills are measured in ‘IELTS’ as well as in ‘PTE’. Candidates who wish to obtain a student visa, are appearing for the 'Academic' Examinations at 'IELTS. Also, those who want to get PR are appearing for the 'General' exams at 'IELTS'.
Although the examinations for these two are the same, some differences can be seen.
For those appearing for ‘IELTS’, ‘speaking’ is measured as an interview. There, the interviewer has to go to the ‘Examiner’ and talk about the topic he is giving.
But the examiner's mood at the moment determines the score of the person facing the test.
7 marks is a very important mark in ‘The IELTS exam. The next important score is 8. Anyone who gets 7 marks in ‘The IELTS exam will get 10 marks for PR. A person who obtains 8 marks in the ‘IELTS’ examination will get 20 marks for PR.
There is a very low probability of getting 7 marks for ‘Writing’ in ‘The IELTS exam. The most common score is 6.5. Even with 7 points, there is hardly a chance of getting 8 points. Due to this, the tendency toward the ‘IELTS’ examination is gradually disappearing. As the likelihood of failing the ‘IELTS’ increases, the focus will be on other options that can make the dream of going abroad a reality, and there will naturally be a focus on ‘PTE’.The 65 marks obtained by a person appearing for the ‘PTE examination are equal to the 7 marks obtained in the ‘IELTS examination. 79 marks in the PTE exam is equivalent to 8 marks in ‘The IELTS exam. The difference with the ‘PTE exam is that it is a fully computerized exam system.
The other difference in the PTE exam is that it uses the same methodology used to measure a Sri Lankan student from other countries. The structure of the ‘PTE’ methodology is completely different from the ‘IELTS’ model. The format of the ‘PTE’ methodology is not uniform, it is complex. Accordingly, PTE cannot be achieved by teaching the format alone as in IELTS.
But it is very easy to pass the exam with proper study and guidance of the basic methods of passing ‘PTE’.
Some may be afraid that just saying the ‘PTE’ computerized exam will make it harder to face. But instead of just writing the exams by hand, we just need to type. The main thing that has to be typed in the essay only. ‘Computer Literacy’ is not required in this exam. The maximum score in ‘PTE’ is 90 marks and the maximum score in IELTS is 9 marks. In the PTE exam, the essay gets less than 10 marks out of 90 marks. The remaining 80 marks will be divided into questions in the Summarize Written text and other sections of Writing, where the typing skills of the candidate will be measured to a minimum. But more than half of the marks in the ‘IELTS exam depend on the essay. Therefore, those who sit for the PTE exam do not need much training in typing.
The ‘Reading’ or reading test you face in ‘PTE’ also measures your ‘Writing’ or English writing ability.
Many of the problems you encounter in ‘PTE’ measure more than one of the skills mentioned above, for example in ‘PTE’ you have to face a test called Read Aloud through the online methodology. Here you have to read aloud the paragraph that appears on the computer screen. In the Reading Aloud section of the Speaking Section, both your reading and speaking skills are measured.
But the problem is that most of the advice is in Chinese, and some websites publish false information and advice. Also, the advantage of your English here is that the accent of each country is not applicable in this exam.
Some people think that the basic knowledge required to sit for the ‘PTE exam can be obtained by engaging in self-study through websites. It is also possible to pass this exam very easily by going to a counselor and correcting pronunciation problems.
Author
Natasha Olivia